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The Kendall School Division II for Negroes was a segregated school division of the Kendall School for the Deaf (now Kendall Demonstration Elementary School), and it was established after Louise B. Miller, a hearing parent of a black deaf child living in Washington, D.C., sued the Board of Education for not providing black deaf children access to education within the district's limits.[1] At the time, black deaf children were being educated at schools for the deaf that were out of town.[1] In the Miller v. Board of Education case, a judge ruled that black deaf students living in Washington, D.C. must be provided education within the district.[1] The Miller v. Board of Education case prompted the opening of the Division II school and enrollment of black deaf students in September 1952.[1][2] Given the segregated nature of the school, black deaf students and their teachers and parents had vastly different experiences compared to white deaf students, their teachers, and parents.[2][3][4][5][6][7] However, for the 1954-1955 academic year the Kendall School for the Deaf was desegregated, in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the Brown v. Board of Education case, which overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine previously established by the Plessy v. Ferguson case.[1][7] In 1998, a plaque was set up at the Kellogg Conference Center on Gallaudet University campus to mark the same location where the Division II classroom buildings and dormitories once stood.[8] In 2017, a discussion about the current memorial plaque on the Gallaudet University campus prompted the planning and design of a new memorial.[9]

History of Segregation at Kendall School

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Black and white photo of Edward Miner Gallaudet seated in an arm chair. He has a handle-bar moustache and is dressed in a suit.
Edward Miner Gallaudet, the first superintendent of the Columbia Institution (Kendall School).

Segregation based on race occurred within the United States during the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s.[1] Although segregation extended to education, the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Blind (Kendall School) was unique in that it accepted black deaf students prior to the Civil War, during a time when educating enslaved black people was considered a crime in some states.[1] [10]The integration of the white and black students in the classrooms at the Columbia Institution dates back to its founding in 1857.[10] During the early years of the school, the superintendent, Edward Miner Gallaudet, believed that the school was responsible for educating all deaf people.[1] However, even though all students shared the same classrooms, black and white students ate and slept in separate areas.[1]

Black and white photo of Francis Cockrell standing. He has a beard and is dressed in a Confederate Army uniform, with two rows of bottoms down the front.
Senator Francis Cockrell of Missouri

Just before the turn of the century, in 1896, parents of white deaf children began objecting to the presence of the black deaf children in the classrooms at the Kendall School.[1] During this time, the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case decided that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional. Parents complained and objected for years against the continued enrollment of the black deaf students, and ultimately the relationships between white and black students were negatively impacted.[1] The black deaf students began to endure intensifying harassment and assaults at the hands of their white deaf peers.[1][10] Mr. Gallaudet believed that the white parents were enticing their children to behave in these ways toward the black deaf children.[10] In response to these circumstances, Mr. Gallaudet opted to send the students elsewhere and sought assistance from Senator Francis Cockrell of Missouri.[1][10] As a result, by March 3rd 1905, Congress approved a law forbidding black deaf children from attending the Kendall School.[1][10] After this point, Mr. Gallaudet was able to send the black deaf students from his school to the Maryland School for the Colored Deaf (now Maryland School for the Deaf) two hours away in Overlea, Maryland.[1][10]

From 1905 until 1952, black deaf children living in Washington, D.C. would be sent out of town to attend school.[1][10] Upon their return to the Kendall School in September 1952, the black deaf students would still be segregated from white deaf students for two more years, until the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case decision would finally desegregate schools.[1][10]

Background on Louise Burrell Miller and Family

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Louise Burrell Miller lived and worked in Washington, D.C. as a statistical clerk in the Census Department.[1] She was married to Luther Miller (a police officer), and they had three deaf sons and a hearing daughter.[1][11] Their eldest child, Kenneth Miller, was born in 1941.[10] The Miller family was moderately wealthy compared to other black families in their district.[11] Their family home is still located at 1204 T Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20009, in the United States of America; this home is now part of a historic tour in Washington, D.C.[10] [11]

In 1946, five-year-old Kenneth had to spend two-and-a-half hours traveling on the bus from his D.C. home to the integrated Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.[10][11] The black deaf children in Washington, D.C. had been mandated to go to other states, either Pennsylvania or Maryland, to receive an education.[12] This was due to a national law establishing segregation within education.[1]

At first, Kenneth was deemed too young to attend the school in Maryland.[10] When Kenneth was finally accepted to the school, Louise felt that the environment was unsuitable for her child and brought him back to Washington, D.C.[1][10][11] Louise wanted Kenneth to attend the Kendall School for the Deaf located on the campus of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., as it was only minutes from their home.[11] However, Kenneth couldn't attend the Kendall School because of the segregation law.[1] For years, Louise wrote many appeal letters to the school and district, but they still would not accept her son.[1][10] Louise believed early education was important for deaf children, so she and her husband decided to pay for Kenneth to have tutors for two years, as well as for Kenneth's tuition, room and boarding fees at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf.[1][10][11] The Millers had to take on these financial burdens because the district refused to cover educational expenses based on their conclusion that Kenneth did not having any special needs that would require him to be educated in a facility other than the Maryland school.[1][10][11]

In 1951, Louise fought for Kenneth's right to attend the Kendall School.[10] She and other parents of deaf children of color filed a lawsuit with the American Veterans Committee, an integrated civil rights group.[10][12] In February of 1952, she filed a suit against several entities, including the Washington, D.C. Board of Education, the Kendall School, and the Washington, D.C. Public Schools with five other parents.[10] Eventually, the plaintiffs won.[10] The United States District Court for the District of Columbia decided Miller v. Board of Education on July 3rd, 1952.[13] From that point forward, the Kendall School admitted Kenneth and other black deaf children.[11]

In September 1952, Kenneth began attending the Kendall School, but he was assigned to separate classes as a student of Division II, which was made up of a twenty-four black deaf children and the first four black teachers.[10][11][14] Black students and teachers of Kendall School Division II were separated from the white students and teachers of Kendall School Division I up until 1954 when Brown v. Board of Education desegregated all public schools.[10][11][14]

A plaque acknowledging the efforts of Mrs. Louise B. Miller is located at the Kellogg Conference Center on the Gallaudet University campus.[11] This plaque also honors the black deaf students, including Louise's son, Kenneth Miller, as well as the first four black teachers of the Kendall School Division II for Negroes.[12]

Miller v. Board of Education case

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A bald eagle is holding a yellow ribbon in its mouth, which reads "E Pluribus Unum". The eagle also is holding an olive branch in one talon, and arrows in the other. Around the bird is a blue border that reads, "United States District Court: District of Columbia".
Seal of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

In 1951, Louise Miller was aided by an integrated group called the American Veterans Committee. [10][12]This group helped fund attorneys, and organize Louise and five other parents.[10] By February of 1952, they were able to sue the Kendall School, the Board of Education, and Washington, D.C. Public Schools.[10] During the trial, they cited the Missouri ex Rel. Gaines v. Canada case.[13] In this case, Lloyd Gaines applied to the University of Missouri Law School but was denied admission because he was black.[15] Instead, the school offered to send Gaines to a law school out of state and cover his tuition expenses.[1][15] Gaines argued that this violated his Fourteenth Amendment right, and in response sued the school.[15] The court denied his petitions, so he took the case to the Supreme Court of Missouri where they ruled in Gaines's favor, declaring that an institution cannot send one race out of the state to receive an education that is being made available to another race within the state.[15] They ruled that all states that supported segregation had to either provide educational programs in black universities that were equal to their white counterparts or admit black students into "white only" universities.[16] Due to the precedence of this decision, Judge Pine ruled in favor of Louise in the Miller v. Board of Education case, and black deaf students were finally allowed to attend the Kendall School.[13] However, Kenneth and the other black children were still segregated within the school, until 1954 when the Supreme Court decided in the case of Brown v. Board of Education decided that all public school were required to desegregate.[10][11][14]

Student Life at Kendall School Division II

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Tudor Revival-style, multi-level red building with cream-colored wooden trim and stained glass windows.
Peikoff Alumni House (formally "Ole Jim"), where Division II students and teachers held classes from September 1952 to April 1953, until the three new Division II buildings were completed.

On September 12, 1952, following the court decision of the Miller v. Board of Education case, twenty-four black students (14 boys and 10 girls) were registered and enrolled in Kendall School Division II.[2] The black students rode to and from school each day in taxi cabs.[2] This differed from the experience of white students, who stayed in dorms overnight as part of the residential program on campus.[1]

Classes for the black students were temporarily held in the Gallaudet College gymnasium, "Ole Jim" (now Peikoff Alumni House), as these students and teachers were not permitted to share classroom space with their white counterparts.[2][3][17] Within the single room of "Ole Jim", three blackboards served as dividers to separate the room into spaces for four classes.[14] By April 1953, Whalen and Purdy contractors completed a $120,000 project on the campus of the Columbia Institute for the Deaf, resulting in two single-story buildings for student dorms as well as another single-story building with six classrooms for the Division II school.[2] Each of the dormitories could house 20 occupants.[2]

The white teachers at the Kendall School openly refused to teach the black deaf children, so a new teaching staff had to be hired to work with the Division II students.[1] The twenty-four black students were taught by four black hearing teachers: Mrs. Rubye S. Frye, Mrs. Bessie Zachary Thornton, Mrs. Mary E. Britt, and Mr. Robert Robinson.[2][1] By April 1953, black students of Division II would also be assigned their own school counselors, Ochia D. Lee and Helen L. Middleton, distinct from the counselors serving the white students of the Division I school.[4]

In addition to segregated environments and distinct teaching staff, the black students of Division II also received a different quality of education than that received by the white students of Division I.[1][10] The white students had access to textbooks and took coursework in algebra, economics, English, Latin, and history, while the black students did not have access to textbooks and were only provided with a list of vocabulary words, colors, and numbers to learn.[1][10]

Beyond the academic coursework offered, during the 1953-1954 academic year, the black students of Division II received instruction in physical education, woodworking, sewing, and crafts.[5][6] In comparison, the white students of Division I received instruction in printing, physical education, and typing.[4][5][6][18] Edward Phillips taught physical education, Franklin Peters taught woodworking, Virginia Wilkinson taught advanced sewing (as well as served as a substitute teacher), and Hylda Puree taught crafts to the black students.[5][6]

Two days a week, the older black students had access to the Gallaudet College gym, "Ole Jim", for their physical education classes with Mr. Phillips.[6] The students also had access to two table tennis sets.[6] One day a week the black boys attended a two-hour woodworking class with Mr. Peters.[6] Mrs. Wilkinson taught the older black girls sewing once a week for two hours.[6] During this period, the girls learned to use a sewing machine to make kitchen and dining materials, such as aprons, hot dish mitts, napkins, and placemats.[6] Under the supervision of Mrs. Wilkinson, Mrs. Puree (a member of the Gallaudet College Graduate Department of Education) taught the younger black girls hand-sewing two days a week for two hours each.[6]

The Division II students were also taught by black Gallaudet College students majoring in education.[5] Andrew Foster, a senior at the time, completed his practice teaching in social studies five days a week with a few of the Division II students.[5][18] Otis Massey, a junior, taught the Division II students typing two days a week for an hour each.[5][6][18] The Division I students had access to white Gallaudet College students, however they were able to receive more diverse instruction from these student-teachers (e.g., woodworking, sewing, cooking).[5] [6][18]

Even with the system of segregation in place, the Division I and Division II students were served by the same medical staff.[5][6][18]

Division II Parent-Teacher Association

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Due to legal racial segregation in Washington, D.C., in addition to having separate buildings and instructional staff, the Division II school also had to have its own Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) separate from that established for the white teachers and families of the Division I school.[1][5] The first meeting of the Division II PTA occurred on November 8, 1953, over one year after the black students had been enrolled at the Kendall School.[5] The following officers were elected to serve for the 1953-1954 school year: Mrs. Luther (Louise) Miller (president), Mr. Youngs (vice-president; Kendall School Division I & II school principal), Mrs. Minnie Mayfield (secretary), and Mrs. Rubye Frye (treasurer).[5] The president of Gallaudet College, Dr. Leonard Elstad, was also in attendance and spoke at the first Division II PTA meeting.[5]

On January 27, 1953, Miss Grace Jones was elected to replace Mrs. Mayfield as the Division II secretary.[6] By this date, the Division II PTA Constitution and By-Laws had been written by a committee led by Mrs. Synora Loftis (chairman), with support from Miss Jones and Mr. Robinson.[5]

The Division II PTA raised funds for the organization through radio raffles.[5] The Division II PTA meetings focused on expanding the Division II school course offerings to include vocational classes.[6] The Division II PTA took initiative in obtaining supplies and equipment for the Division II classes, such as an electric sewing machine for the sewing class led by Mrs. Wilkinson.[6] The Division II PTA also purchased two bicycles and one tricycle that was gifted to all Kendall students in the Fall of 1954, following the school's desegregation.[7]

The Division II PTA educated its members during meetings by viewing films on deaf children, such as the film "The Deaf Post Rubella School Child," made by the Lexington School for the Deaf.[6]

Brown v. Board of Education Prompts Desegregation

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Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954, the Kendall School's classes and departments were fully integrated for the 1954-1955 academic school year.[7] In the October 1954 issue of The Kendall School newspaper, Just Once A Month, Mr. Joseph P. Youngs (principal) outlined the school's reorganization.[7] Over the summer of 1954, the school facilities underwent repairs and redecoration in preparation for the program's integration.[7] The Division II dorms and classrooms were renamed and repurposed to house the younger students and primary classes.[7] In his outline of the changes, Principal Youngs explicitly stated that the buildings were to be referred to as the "Primary Department", and that the term "Division II" would no longer be used.[7] In addition, the dining room located in what had been the Division II classroom building basement began being used by all students.[7]

At least on paper, there was no longer a distinction made between what had been the Division I and Division II teaching faculties and staff; in the school newspaper, all relevant personnel were collectively listed as faculty, counselors, and Gallaudet College Seniors serving all of the Kendall School students.[7]

As part of the school's desegregation process, the 1953-1954 PTAs for Division I and Division II were also combined.[7] At the October 4th, meeting in 1954, the PTA members planned to host a special election the following month to determine the officers of the new PTA.[7] Mrs. Marvin Green acted as the interim president of the PTA until the elections.[7] On November 1, 1954, the following officers were elected to serve in the PTA during the 1954-1955 academic year: Mrs. Marvin Green (president), Mrs. Luther (Louise) Miller (vice-president), Mrs. Leonard Ellis (secretary), and Mrs. Irving (Rubye) Frye (treasurer).[19]

During its first year, this new PTA held fundraisers for the school, including a turkey raffle, and purchased two tumbling mats for the recently integrated school and all its students.[7][19]

Division II Memorials

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Brick wall with plaque which reads: Historic Site of Kendall School Division II for Negroes. Built March 1953. A Landmark in Desegregation of Education for Negro Deaf Students. Teachers: Mary E. Britt, Rubye S. Frye, Robert Robinson, Bessie Z. Thornton. Students: Mary Arnold, Irene Brown, Darrel Chatman, Robbie Cheatham, Dorothy Howard, Robert Jones, Richard King, Rial Loftis, William Matthews, Donald Mayfield, Robert Milburn, Kenneth Miller, Willie Moore, Deborah Moton, Clifford Ogburn, Diana Pearson, Doris Richardson, Julian Richardson, Christine Robinson, Norman Robinson, Donald Ruffin, Barbara Shorter, Dorothy Watkins. The efforts of Mrs. Louise B. Miller resulted in Civil Action Number 515-52 admitting her son, Kenneth, and other Negro deaf children in Washington, D.C. to Kendall School at Gallaudet University (Formerly the Columbia Institution for the Deaf).
1998 Kendall School Division II Memorial plaque

In 1998, a Division II Memorial plaque was erected outside the Gallaudet University Kellogg Conference Center to recognize the site where the Division II school buildings previously stood.[8]

On September 19, 2017, the Gallaudet University Office of Diversity and Equity for Students (ODES) held a forum to discuss the plaque, which was not situated in a prominent location on campus.[9] Over 50 people attended the forum, with many people of color, calling for a memorial that more appropriately honored the historical significance and impact of Miller v. Board of Education and the Division II school during the "separate but equal" era of the United States, as well as the Black Deaf experience of past.[9] [20]

A fundraising project for a permanent memorial began in the Fall of 2017, at the direction of President Roberta Cordano.[21] The National Black Deaf Advocates organization has since partnered with Gallaudet University's Office of Development for the Kendall School Division II Memorial.[22] A fundraising video filmed in November 2018 included notable Gallaudet University alumni, such as Dr. Ernest Hairston, Dr. Glenn B. Anderson, and Dr. Carolyn McCaskill.[21] Kendall School for the Deaf alumni Kenneth Miller and his brother Gerald, along with their sister Carol, also appeared in the second fundraising video.[21]

During the summer of 2020, graduate student and activist Delresea Mornes posted an open letter to Gallaudet university addressing various monuments on its campus.[23] [24] In her letter, Mornes asked whether the university was ashamed of its Black Deaf community, referring to the multiple requests made by the Black Student Union to change the placement of the Division II Memorial plaque, which continued to be left unaddressed without action by the university for several years.[23][24] As part of many student demands included in the letter, Mornes called for the Division II Memorial plaque to be enlarged and relocated to "Ole Jim"/Peikoff Alumni House, and for a memorial honoring and recognizing Louise B. Miller's advocacy on behalf of Black Deaf children.[23][24]

One month after the publication of Mornes's open letter, in August 2020, the Gallaudet University Center for Black Deaf Studies (GU CBDS), led by founding director Dr. McCaskill, was established to raise awareness of the Black Deaf experience and the history of Black Deaf education, as well as oversee the new Division II memorial design, construction, and naming process.[25][26] The MASS Design Group was contracted to develop the memorial design.[27] [28]Over fifty-five name suggestions for the memorial were sent to the GU CBDS.[29] Of the name suggestions provided, the Steering Committee picked three names, which were approved by the Board of Trustees on February 12, 2021.[29] The three names considered and up for a vote by members of the community during March 2021 were:

  1. "Louise B. Miller Memorial"
  2. "Louise B. Miller Pathways and Gardens: A Legacy to Black Deaf Children"
  3. "Louise B. Miller Black Deaf Cultural Path".[29]
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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Jowers-Barber, Sandra. "The Struggle to Educate Black Deaf Schoolchildren in Washington, DC". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Just Once a Month, Vol. 32, No. 1 | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  3. ^ a b "Kenneth Miller, member of the Kendall School Division II for Negroes inaugural class of 1952, and family visit Gallaudet". Gallaudet University. 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  4. ^ a b c "Just Once a Month, Vol. 32, No. 7 | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Just Once a Month, Vol. 33, No. 2 | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Just Once a Month, Vol. 33, No. 5 | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Just Once a Month, Vol. 34, No. 1 | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  8. ^ a b "The Buff and Blue: Vol. 107, no. 12 (1998: Dec. 4) | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  9. ^ a b c "Forum discusses plaque that commemorates education of black deaf students during the "Separate but Equal" era | my.Gallaudet". my.gallaudet.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ""We refused to leave our children behind" in Miller v. Board of Education - The Phoenix". 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Civil Rights Tour: Education - Louise Burrell Miller and Deaf Education - 1204 T Street NW". DC Historic Sites. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  12. ^ a b c d "KSDII-Memorial-Gallaudet.mp4 - Gallaudet University". media.gallaudet.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  13. ^ a b c "Miller v. Board of Education of District of Columbia, 106 F. Supp. 988 (D.D.C. 1952)". Justia US Law. Retrieved 22 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ a b c d "Class of 1952 (1990)". Gallaudet University. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
  15. ^ a b c d "Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada". Oyez. Retrieved 21 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "Lloyd Lionel Gaines". The State Historical Society of Missouri Historic Missourians. Retrieved 21 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Peikoff Alumni House". Gallaudet University. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  18. ^ a b c d e "Just Once a Month, Vol. 33, No. 3 | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  19. ^ a b "Just Once a Month, Vol. 34, No. 2 | Library Deaf Collections and Archives". gaislandora.wrlc.org. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  20. ^ "Center for Black Deaf Studies". GallyShare. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  21. ^ a b c "Kendall School Division II for Negroes fundraising project information now available | my.Gallaudet". my.gallaudet.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  22. ^ "Kendall School Division II Memorial". Gallaudet University. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  23. ^ a b c Gallaudet Monument Letter, retrieved 2021-04-19
  24. ^ a b c Mornes, Delresea (June 30, 2020). "Gallaudet Monument Letter". docs.google.com. Retrieved 2021-04-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ "Two Gallaudet news briefs: Center for Black Deaf Studies established; new research study on health risks associated with communication neglect". The Daily Moth. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
  26. ^ Newly established Center on Black Deaf Studies, retrieved 2021-03-19
  27. ^ ""Kendall School Division II for Negroes Stakeholders' Meeting" to be held April 20, 2018 | my.Gallaudet". my.gallaudet.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  28. ^ "EDI updates now available for Tuesday, April 22, 2019 | my.Gallaudet". my.gallaudet.edu. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  29. ^ a b c Kendall Division II Memorial - Renaming Options, retrieved 2021-03-19
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